Former Chelsea £35m signing announces retirement from football aged 33

Today, on October 30, 2023, former Premier League winner and Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has officially announced his retirement from professional football after over a year of inactivity.

He led a storied career that last 13 years - in that time, he played for outfits such as Leicester City, Aston Villa, Watford, Huddersfield Town and Chelsea.

Drinkwater’s time in professional football may have featured some deep valleys - but it was also host to some incredibly high peaks. Let’s take a look at everything the ex-England international achieved in the world of football:

Speaking in his retirement on the High Performance Podcast, Drinkwater said: “I’ve been wanting to play but [I have] not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued. I’ve never been really obsessed with football, I’ve just loved it. The idea of me dropping down is fine but it’s the idea of not playing to my worth.”

Brief history of Danny Drinkwater’s career

Drinkwater’s career began in the Manchester United academy - however, he would never play a Premier League game for the Red Devils. Instead, his time at Old Trafford was characterised by loan spells at clubs such as Cardiff City, Huddersfield and Barnsley.

He left United in 2012 to join Leicester City, where he would remain for the bulk of his career. After helping the Foxes reach the Premier League, he stunned the world by playing a pivotal role in their title-winning campaign in 2015/16 season - undoubtedly, this was the peak of Drinkwater’s time in football.

He left Leicester in 2017 to join Chelsea for a fee of £35 million - despite this, he made just 12 Premier League appearances for Chelsea over the course of five years, scoring a solitary goal. During his time at Stamford Bridge, he went out on loan to the likes of Burnley, Aston Villa and finally, Reading.